This thread is aimed at Fortuners owners, who are affected by the handling issues reported here and in the press.

If you are not affected, please do not post here, it WILL be deleted! As will off-topic discussion, there are other threads for that

Carte Blanche is researching a programme on the reported Toyota Fortuner (pre 2009 facelift model) handling issues. They have been folllowing the content on the forum, and require the input of affected Fortuner owners.

There are many owners who upgraded suspensions etc at their own cost, they are also affected, and should also try and take part in this process.

Yes I was affected by this as well. After many conversations and letters to TSA, I decided to change the suspension, which now could affect the warranty of the vehicle, but for the safety of my family and my own, the damage to my pocket was R13k later. TSA still blames the tyres and inexperienced drivers. I gave my name to Carol if they would like to ask more questions.
Need some more Fortuner owners behind this.

Good day, Yes, I was affected by this problem but in a small way with some loss of control at low speed on corrugated road. I followed the developments in the media and decided to upgrade my Fortuner's suspension as a precaution.

Good day, Yes, I was affected by this problem but in a small way with some loss of control at low speed on corrugated road. I followed the developments in the media and decided to upgrade my Fortuner's suspension as a precaution.

Please do contact Carte Blanche with your own experiences. I think it is important for them to get feedback from as many owners as possible.

Good day, I also had the 2008 Fortuner which I now
changed for the newer model. I noticed that when
driving on a roads with a minimal amount of gravel
there was very little or no traction. TSA changed
the tyres for me however I did not get to go off road again.
Regards

Yesterday (24 February 2009) I almost lost my family. My wife and our little 11 month old boy was pulled out of a 4x4 Diesel Fortuner that rolled 3 times. They're both fine, thank God, along with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law who was driving.

Driving along at UNDER 80km/h on a dirt road with corrugations in the Free State, without warning the vehicle suddenly lost grip at the back and fishtailed, then rolled. A tree, cliff or whatever would have put them in coffins today. My brother in law is the most conservative driver you will ever meet, and with our baby in the car he was even more cautious. He was going slowly for the conditions of the road and much slower than he would have driven in any other 4x4. A farmer friend passed them on the same road before the accident in his bakkie and later commented he couldn't bear driving behind them any longer because it was frustratingly slow for him. Bottom line is I dare Toyota to even try and suggest that he was speeding or driving too fast for the conditions of the road. Clearly he was driving too fast for the capabilities of the Fortuner which is sub-standard.

We are all very angry right now after reading all the testimonies of other rolls, but relieved that everyone survived to tell the tale. Carol has made contact with us. Watch this space.

Last edited by Dash; 27-02-09 at 01:28 PM.
Reason: Farmer friend spoke to my brother in law later, Carol contacted

I own a 2007 Toyota Fortuner D4D 4x2 and I have queried about the handling problem with my Toyota Dealer in Durban.The service manager advised me that if my vehicle had handling problems on gravel roads or if its involved in a rollover and I did survive, I should then contact them about changing my tyres, other than that, I should drive normally and not let this issue worry me.

How’s that after spending R 315 000

Also, interestingly enough, Toyota has now upgraded the tyres on the new spec 2009 fortuner to 17 inch and changed the rims. I think its only fair that they admit the problem and do a recall on all fortuners and upgrade everyone’s tyres irrespective of issues or not.

Also, interestingly enough, Toyota has now upgraded the tyres on the new spec 2009 fortuner to 17 inch and changed the rims. I think its only fair that they admit the problem and do a recall on all fortuners and upgrade everyone’s tyres irrespective of issues or not.

RegardsRavesen

I or rather my vehicle is affected. Enough said in the original thread though.

The new Hilux is now fitted with the "old" 16" Fortuner rims and 265/70/16 General Grabbers!

The tyres are not the issue, but I won't repeat everything in the previous thread. Go read there.

Clearly seems that I'm not the only one with a problem. I've had the most shocking services from Toyota and have actually tried to take it further with Toyota SA but they just refered me back to the dealer principle in this regard. I tow a lot as well and that seems to make the situation worse. Doesn't matter if the vehicle carries load or not the same scary ride persists. And it is not due to inexperience, I've been lucky to have owned a large number of different vehicles and have never had this problem, currently also have a LandRover and its a dream on the dirt compared to the Fortuner. I got so upset with Toyota in December that, if I could have gotten hold of them I would have strangled someone. Sick and tired of the "what do you want us to do replies". What to do? Fix It. Don't want to endanger my familie's lifes.

I was also effected and also made some additional investments in my 2008 FT V6. It is still not sorted out, and the next step is a new, upgraded suspension, which I still need to budget for.... It is an ongoing issue and I am in 100% support to get TSA to sort this out. I have sent my detail to CB.

Qoute:
Carte Blanche is researching a programme on the reported Toyota Fortuner (pre 2009 facelift model) handling issues. They have been folllowing the content on the forum, and require the input of affected Fortuner owners.

Dirk, Glad to hear this. Yes, I bought a new Fortuner 4.0 V6 beginning 2007 (Standard) and nearly rolled it on two occasions. I traded it in beginning 2008 for a new 3.0 Diesel 4x4, put on BFG’s and the problem was still there on the new vehicle. In October, last year, I had the “Gatswaai” occur on no less than 7 occasions while I did the Namaqua 4x4 route and visited the Richtersveld, with tyre pressures of 1.8!

By the way, here is a copy of my comments I was going to post on your previous thread, but I was too late as you had already closed it.

WHATEVER YOU DO, JUST DON’T CLOSE THIS THREAD. It was, is and remains a constant thorn in the thigh of TOYOTA and the only effective pressure on them. I was one of those who met with Toyota’s Ferdi de Vos and his team outside Pretoria last year. Those of you who were there will remember him saying that this forum of yours is a GREAT CONCERN OF TOYOTA AND IS HURTING THEM. If you discontinue this thread, it will put the biggest possible smile on the face of Ferdi de Vos! You will remember that Ferdi and the 2 test drivers of Toyota explained that the Fortuner was not in the class of the PRADO, PAJERO etc! That is why it is much cheaper than the other vehicles. When the “gatswaai Phenomenon” occurred, whilst the 2 Toyota test drivers took me and my colleague out in their Fortuner, they explained it as quite normal for this kind of vehicle. IT IS, THEREFORE, NOT A QUESTION OF WHETHER THE “GATSWAAI” EXISTS OR NOT, but rather a question of whether the “Phenomenon” is a problem or not. According to Toyota it is not, whilst according to me it is a ticking time bomb. So PLEASE keep this thread alive. Every existing member or new person that joins with his/her criticism (even if it is similar to previous ones) drives a new thorn into the thigh of Toyota SA. In conclusion: Whether a 4x4 off-road vehicle which can not do speeds higher than 70 – 80 km/h on corrugated surfaces (without its rear end paying the driver a visit), classifies as a “Phenomenon” or a “Problem”, I leave up to you.

I thought that my FT was immune to the handling issue since I'm not an off-roader. This is my family car (great for lugging everything except the kitchen sink),and used on tar only.

A few weeks ago,I hit a pothole at about 80km/h and wound up on the oncoming lane. The vehicle was totally out of my control,and I'm ever so grateful that my family and I escaped unharmed. This had nothing to do with driver error. My major grievance is that my family's safety was compromised due to poor stability at a very moderate speed.

After this horrific experience,my priority is to settle for another vehicle,definitely not Toyota because of their blatant denial of the stability issue and customer satisfaction/service is non-existent. My first and last Toyota.

As I have mentioned on the site before, after tyre pressure and load experimentation and then new tyres that made no difference, I had a set of Bilstein shocks fitted.
Problem solved. The vehicle is not correctly damped. With the expertise at Afrishox and the engineers in Germany they have developed Fortuner shocks that have made an unbelievable difference to my vehicle.
Toyota's solution of fitting new tyres with a stiffer sidewall lessens the spring effect of the tyre thus helping the over worked OE shocks cope.
Thats my theory anyway, it is working!

I have had 2 serious and one very serious instability incidences occur while driving my D4D 4X4 Fortuner at under 70km per hour on corrugated roads. Trying to deal with Toyota on this matter has been impossible and their attitude has been supercilious.
In the end I have fitted four Koni shock absobers and the instability problem has gone.
I certainly will be contacting Carol.

Thanks, Dirk. I have sent my info to Carol. They can contact me any time.

Here's my history:
I ride off-road (enduro) motorcycles as a sport and consider myself way above average i.t.o. off-road driving skills and technical ability. I also spent much time camping and driving on dirt roads with my family.

I bought my diesel Fortuner 4x4 late 2007 and have driven dirt roads extensively since then. On my very first dirt road trip I found the vehicle to be very "jittery" and unpredictable over corrugations. Obviously tire pressure and vehicle loads had an effect, so I took this into account in my assessment.

The car was unsafe due to fishtailing and I was disappointed! I soon learnt to anticipate the rear end breaking away and be ready to carefully nurse it back to a straight line; sometimes with near disastrous effect.

Last year TSA fitted the new Grabbers, which made absolutely ZERO difference! After following the public debate for some time it became clear that TSA was not doing anything to rectify the instability. Concern for my family's safety prompted me to install OME shock absorbers at a cost of R7000 in February 2009.

It made a huge difference to stability, although it did not sort the issue completely. I still get rear tyre steer effect, which I ascribe to the high profile Grabbers.

I do believe TSA should accept responsibility for the issue and stop implying Fortuner drivers are idiots.A vehicle recall is needed and suspect components like tyres, rims and shocks should be replaced; end of story!

I purchased a Fortuner 4X4 4.0L V6 in Feb last year. I bought the vehicle second hand with 5000km on the clock. The salesman told me that the owners wife had traded her Merc ML in on this vehicle. He then told me that she drove it for two months and then decided to trade the vehicle in on a Toureg because she felt that the vehicle didn't drive as nice as the Merc did. Nice one, and I fell for it and was soon to find out what the real reason was.On the first trip we did back to the farm I let my wife drive. I traded my Mazda 3 in on this vehicle thinking that it would be a much safer vehicle for her to commute with given the rough dirt roads we had to travel on. We didn't have to go very far before the experience of our new vehicle turned from one of happiness to utter fear. My wife is a very cautious driver. We came around a bend on the dirt at around 65km and hit a corrugated patch that changed the view of our new investment immediately. Without warning the back end stepped out and she found herself wrestling for control as the vehicles rear end fish tailed violently. She over corrected slightly and that made things worse. Helplessly I watched as this nightmare unfolded. She hit the brakes hard. Luckily we were not going fast because the vehicle turned sideways and came to a stop at right angles to our travel path.This was was fortunate that at that stage we didn't have enough momentum to cause the vehicle to roll over.

I had similar bad behaviour on dirt roads. Switching to 4wheel drive high did not change the isue. After a complete suspension change and a tyre change the FT is now as safe as it will probabily ever get. I am satisfied with the way the dealer tried to sort it out but Toyota sa needs to study customer relations. On the e mail i sent them regarding this issue i had the following response and that was it .

Toyota thanks you for your interest.

Dear Willem

Thank you for your interest. We have received your enquiry and we will get in touch as soon as possible.

As you can see it was recieved on yhe 17/01/2008 and more than a year later - Nothing. I spend the money on the FT for my family sake. It still is an awesome preformer on and offroad but to pay 340k for a Toyota and then to fix it
Regardless you might find somebody at CI caravans willing to disscuss this isue since i do know that a dealer commented to me about it. Their concern was already noted in 2007 if i am correct. Theirs were an issue surounding the instability when towing a caravan. I do feel that TSA need to take this isue up with Toyota Japan.
I also read somewhere on the internet that Toyota Europe had stop at some stage the manufacture of the Hilux and/or Fortunner as a result of simmilar complaints. Whether this was true i cannot comment.
This problem might be much larger than anticipated. I would like to see an inclusion of similar SUV and their rollrate. It might be because of the high volumes sold that this problem is seen in Toyota but overlooked in other makes because of the much lower selling volume. The percentage might be the same?
It is just my personal view.

*I received my brand new Fortuner 3.0-D4D 4x4 start of August 2008.
*Reported the handling problem at the 10,000km service.
*Reported it to TSA Customer Helpline.
*I again reported it at the 20,000km service - the tire tread was measured, pressures checked and apparently the claim was approved.
*Inquired about the tires again at the 30,000km service - no luck.
*The current ODO reading is 37,100km.
*I am still waiting for the tires.

Every time I inquire about the tires I am either told there is a backlog on the orders or I don't receive any feedback from the local dealer at all.

We experienced the gatswaai problem again this weekend, this time a passenger noticed it without me saying anything. I will forward my details to Carol.

I bought a new Fortuner D 4x4 October 2008. I have had the following experience: Driving on dirt roads with centre diff locked is ok (never driven faster than 80 km/h – probably because of this thread..). Without the diff locked there is definitely a problem with rear slide. Don’t know if this makes sense.

I Have a Jan 2007 D4D 4x4 Toyota Fortuner. Just so we can rule out the experience issue, I have driven from South Africa through 14 countries to Senegal on two separate trips 2005 and 2007. The trip was done in a Mitsubish colt bakkie which returned from both trips relatively unscathed. (Barring a few minor dents and scratches). On delivery of my Fortuner i was thrilled to bits and really enjoyed the ride and comfort. I first became aware of a problem almost a year after we purchased our vehicle, on a trip to Cape Vidal and surrounds. It was the first time that we had travelled longish distances on dirt roads. We were towing a Venter Botswana special trailer and felt a strange, unsafe breaking away feeling whilst travelling on these dirt roads. We slowed down to speeds of around 50km/hr and all seemed fine. A little perturbed that we couldn’t travel over 50km/hr in our new R330000 4x4 we thought that it may very well be an issue with our trailer, possibly an unbalanced load.

Again a few months later we headed out on a trip to Thabazimbi, trailer in tow. We were about 10 km from our destination when we faced a dirt road. Travelling at around 80km/h we drove for a further 5km on the right hand side of the road as there were fewer corrugations, when we approached a gentle right hand bend. To ensure our safety and avoid the possibility of a car coming around the corner in the opposite direction, i moved to the left-hand side of the road. As i was going round the bend, i started to move over to the smoother right hand side of the road. As i did this i felt the back break away and the trailer pulling violently to the one side then the other. In order to stop this out of control feeling, i accelerated, but by that time the trailer hit the small sand embankment on the right hand side of the road, and overturned, ripping off the rooftop tent and seriously damaging the trailer. The swing of the trailer was so bad that the A- frame in the front hit the rear right side of the bumper.

Very shaken we recovered what we could of the trailer and accessories and continued to our destination.
It was after this incident that my wife and i decided that the vehicle was dangerous and we needed to get something done about it. It has now been to Toyota three times, including replacing the tyres and doing a rear axle adjustment, but it still remains in my opinion an unsafe vehicle. We have now made a point of trying to avoid dirt roads where possible and if we are faced with them, travel at a speed of 40-50km/h.

As i know my Mitsubishi colt intimately from all my travels, i can tell you with certainty that there is a serious problem with my Fortuner. There is absolutely no comparison between the handling of the 2 vehicles on the same stretch of dirt road. I really love everything else about the vehicle, but just can’t continue to have my wife and kids travel around in it on a daily basis. I still maintain that if one had to go onto the gravel shoulder at speed to avoid something in the road, it would be game over!!

I have recorded my dissatisfaction with the Fortuner we own elsewhere, in summary, it has no traction on corrugated roads, the problem is evident to anyone who spends 10 minutes driving the car on a dirt road, the problem relates to inability of the suspension system to absorb and react correctly to the frequencies generated on typical dirt roads around 60 - 80 KM/hr.

I am not a novice offroader and have completed 100,000km in my Landcruiser of which 99% are involved in reaching or travelling in offroad conditions. I partake in the occasional 4 x 4 competition on a friendly basis and last year completed a tour of Namibia & Zambia including the Kaokaveld and the uncharted parts of western Zambia on a community service mapping exercise.

Toyotas reaction to my complaints regarding the Fortuner was to try and sell me a new set of tyres. I have a quote from them in response to my plea to rectify my vehicles problem and view this as a written admission of the vehicles problem. I consider Toyota is guilty of gross misrepresentation of the Fortuner product as it is not a competent 4 x 4 as implied in their advertising and vehicle specifications, it was not brought to our attention on the occasion of the sale that we would be restricted to the use of tyres supplied by a third party, and I and my attorney believe that this is sufficeint grounds to have the sale of the vehicle nullified. Unfortunatly I do not have the time or inclination to devote to the resolution of the problem in this way, so am resolved to purchasing a suspension and tyre upgrade, possibly involving the expense of around R20K.

If Carte blanche wishes to contact me I will provide them every assistance to put Toyota in their place.

I had the unpleasant experience of owning a Toyota Fortuner, albeit for the brief period of 24 days. I purchased the vehicle on the 28th of May 2008 – by the 20th of June 2008 I had completely written the vehicle off. We live on a game reserve in the Limpopo Province & have lived on game reserves for the past 13 years so i am very accustomed to driving on dirt roads – in fact I much prefer it. However it was a different matter with the above mentioned vehicle – I had on a previous occasion mentioned to my husband that the Fortuner does not hold the dirt road as well as our previous vehicle (a land rover), he told me that he had also experienced this & that I should refrain from driving the speeds that we would normally have driven in the Land rover. Bearing this in mind I left our property with my 4 year old son strapped in the back seat & mymother to go to Naboomspruit. The road is 18km of dirt that I drive at least once a week & have been driving for the past 7 years. I was doing between 50 – 60 km per hour (verified by an eye witness driving behind me) when the car hit some minor corrugation, the back end of the vehicle swung out to my right & I started to go off the road – I managed to regain control of the vehicle only to hit the corrugation & thick sand whilst coming back onto the road - that was it – Ilost complete control of the vehicle – I took out a reasonable sized tree with the bonnet, a game fence & then went nose first into a ditch only then to start to roll tail over nose, we were all wearing seatbelts when the accident occurred – (photographs of the injuries suffered from the seat belts were taken) . There was not one panel of the vehicle that wasn’t damaged bar the diesel flap – none of the airbags opened at all. Luckily for us someone was driving behind us & he was able to pull usall out of the vehicle as we couldn’t open the doors. He forced open the driver’s door to get us all out – I suffered from a concussion & had a large laceration on my head that needed to be stitched. My mom was treated for a neck injury & was given a brace to wear; luckily my son had no major injuries except bruising, a mild concussion & psychological problems after the accident for which we have taken him to counselling. When we spoke to Toyota we were first told that my I was speeding – which I wasn’t – I was then told that the airbags didn’t open because we did not have the seatbelts on – we did, then I was told that the impact wasn’t hard enough to open the bags? If you have seen the articles in out there - my car is the white one on the to truck - you decide if it the impace was hard enough(photo alec lambrechts)

I will never again buy a Toyota it just isn't worth it - such an expensive car for such poor performance!!

Thanks for doing this thread as I was beginnig to wonder if I was one of the only people out there dissatisfied with the vehicle.

Carte Blanche is researching a programme on the reported Toyota Fortuner (pre 2009 facelift model) handling issues. They have been folllowing the content on the forum, and require the input of affected Fortuner owners.

Dirk, any news from Carte Blanche on progress? Is somebody following up with them from time to time?

Without the upgrade, fishtailing on corrugated surfaces a serious problem.....

I took delivery of new fortuner 3l D4D 4x4 in October 2008 and having followed this thread on the forum and after many discussions with those contributing to the Fortuner handling problem thread; upgraded the suspension and and fitted Maxxi bravo 751 tyres of the same spec. and refusing to accept the standard tyres (grabbers of old spec) which TSA had put on the vehicle. They made me an offer of
R 500 for the old spec tyres. I said no, they could deliver the new spec tyres when they were available. To cut a long story short, We did 6500 km overland trip via Namib and Kgalagadi Dec/Jan mostly on unsurfaced roads and had no problems
Travelling both with and without a heavy load. Max tyre pressure 2.3 loaded and 1.8 without the load.....Carte Blanche welcome to call me 083 3259398.

Last edited by 4ePajero; 04-03-09 at 03:26 PM.
Reason: Place accent on the problem, not the cure.

In short, I purchased a Fortuner 3.0D 4 x 2 in September 2008, had new tyres fitted in December 2008 and still experiencing the problem. I am now very hesitant to pay R7000 to replace the shocks and still sit with the same problem.

There is definately a handling problem with the Fortuner. I believe that I have more experience than most driving on gravel roads. I first drove solo at 9 years of age with my father’s permission on our farm. I have driven everything from Landrovers to Unimogs. I have owned a couple of Hilux's (combined Hilux total km's easily more than 2 million km - many on gravel) and a Landcruiser 105 series.

I experienced 2 serious incidents with my Fortuner within the first 10,000 km where I believe that if I had limited gravel road experience (as many Fortuner owners may have), I would have rolled the vehicle. In both of these instances, I was driving below 100km/h on a straight gravel road. As has been described in numerous posts, the back suddenly broke away and I found myself traveling sideways. I believe that in the standard setup, the Fortuner is a dangerous vehicle for the inexperienced and unprepared.

The Fortuners handling can be managed and new owners should be made aware of the issues and dynamics involved if they intend using the vehicle on gravel. I list these issues in order of importance –

Change those tyres – I believe that original spec General Grabbers were a totally unsuitable tyre for gravel road purposes. Toyota replaced mine with Bridgestone Duelers – vast improvement.

Manage the tyre pressure – when traveling off road, reduce the tyre pressure to between 1.8 and 2.0 depending on the load. Check the tyre pressure regularly – heat buildup will increase the tyre pressure.

Fit a good aftermarket suspension / shock setup. I fitted OME – this certainly improved the comfort but was less of a factor than point 1 and 2 in improving the handling.

Once the tyres and suspension has been sorted out, the tyre pressure is the remaining main factor that needs to be managed. I carry two tyre gauges and a compressor in the vehicle at all times.

I am now very happy with the vehicle and believe that it is a quality, value for money, capable 4x4. Unfortunately, there is some pain and learning that needs to take place before a owner gets to this point. I owned an original spec Toyota Landcruiser which cornered on rails, irrespective of tyre pressure, tyre type, gravel surface etc.

Toyota have just fitted the replacement tyres for the Fortuner. When I got home ( 3 km's of driving)I took a good look at them and noticed that on one of them there was already a bulge comming out of the side wall. There is also a "slit" on the outside rubber that exposes the strands on the side wall. I know this cant be good, but can anyone comment on how bad it is?

I have just had new tyres fitted on my Fortuner, and on inspection, there is a bulge out the side wall of one of the tyres, with a slit just below it exposing the steel bands. I am aware this is a patent defect with potentially very serious dangers attached.

Has anyone else experienced this on the Fortuner replacement tyres? I have notified the dealer, TSA and Carte Blanch.

You right, my post was poor. I am fully aware of the dangers with swollen tyres. Or were you asking me If I was serious about the brand new tyres being faulty? It was more another record of my Fortuner problems along with the other correspondence I have forwarded to the dealer and TSA.

I would also like to know what the differences between the new and old tyres are, considering almost all of the new and old tyre codes on the side wall are identicall?

Hi,
I'm new to the forum, some friends told me about it when I related news of my accident this past weekend in our reasonably new Fortuner 4x2 3l Diesel.

I bought the vehicle in Sept 2008, just before the facelift came out.
Ironically I had just had new tyres fitted at Toyota's expense last week due to the rumoured instability.

Here is what happened.
We (my wife, 3 kids and myself) were traveling on a dirt road in the Kalahari, approximately 90kms north of Kuruman. On a straight section, traveling at around 80kph the back suddenly started fishtailing, I didn't slam on breaks or yank the steering-wheel, but just tried to regain control, no joy, our trailer (a Venter Savuti, off-road model) accentuated the action and capsized, we were pushed off the road, went through a fence and came to a standstill on top of some wood, about 20m further.
Thankfully nobody was hurt.
We managed to get the vehicle out, as the engine wasn't damaged we managed to get it in a state where we could still drive it, first to the farm (another 30kms uproad) and then after a bit of boere-panelbeating, back to Jo'burg.

The vehicle is going in on Monday for an assesment of the damages.

This experience has left me badly shaken, I'm not sure I want to own a Fortuner anymore.

Hi,
I have owned my Fortuner D4D now for 2 years, and have commented on the other thread that I have not been affected, well, up untill easter weekend in the Cederberge.

Because I am aware of the possible handling issues vs driver experience etc, I made sure my central diff is locked (for 50/50 power front/rear), thus in 4x4H, my Grabber tyres were down to 1.7 Bar, and I drive gravel roads as a hobby, with the respect it deserves.

On the day, I drove with empty vehicle form my campsite at Nuwerust to Sanddrif, tyres 1.7, central diff etc over severely bad corrugated (sinkplaat) between Matjiesriver and Sanddrif, it is that type of sinkplaat where your "tande klap".

I drove at 40km/h, uphill and level, over this sinkplaat, and my tail started fishtailing, I just reduced speed and got control back. I was afraid of this, as I thought it was driver issues more than Fortuner issues causing this mayhem over the Fortuners. But now I experienced it as well, and I think the problem is the deep sinkplaat roads, those where the waves of the gravel is spaced further and your tande klap. I have never had this experience on any other type of gravel (about 5000km in this Fortuner)

It would be interesting if other Fortuner owners could go drive that road, with other vehicles too, maybe all vehicles would fishtail over that area, I don't know. But it confirmed to me the that I too may sit with a problem.

Hope we get a solution to this one day, I will probably have to fit OME's at my own expense, and that's unfair.

Bought a 2007 Diesel Fortuner a month ago. We decided to take a back route over the weekend and the Fortuner gave me a nasty "gatswaai" at 80 km/h on a slight bend (corrugated) which should never have occurred at that speed. Thereafter, having had the fright she did it again at 70km/h but less severe. I now have no confidence in her handling on dirt roads.

Bought a 2007 Diesel Fortuner a month ago. We decided to take a back route over the weekend and the Fortuner gave me a nasty "gatswaai" at 80 km/h on a slight bend (corrugated) which should never have occurred at that speed. Thereafter, having had the fright she did it again at 70km/h but less severe. I now have no confidence in her handling on dirt roads.

Hi,
On the day, I drove with empty vehicle form my campsite at Nuwerust to Sanddrif, tyres 1.7, central diff etc over severely bad corrugated (sinkplaat) between Matjiesriver and Sanddrif, it is that type of sinkplaat where your "tande klap".

It would be interesting if other Fortuner owners could go drive that road, with other vehicles too, maybe all vehicles would fishtail over that area, I don't know. But it confirmed to me the that I too may sit with a problem.

Hope we get a solution to this one day, I will probably have to fit OME's at my own expense, and that's unfair.

Hi There
I attach a copy of my e-mail to TSA, which was sent via my dealer, Rivonia Toyota:Subject: Concerned 2008 Fortuner 3.0 D 4X4 ownerImportance: High

Hi Enver

Further to our telephonic discussion this morning, concerning the lack of off-road road holding, on my vehicle.

I purchased my 4X4 from your dealership with the express view of going on diving trips to Mozambique etc. I was not told that Toyota had not expected owners to go off-road with the vehicles and that the Fortuner was not a baby Prado, as Ferdie de Vos of Toyota SA, recently said. I fitted BF Goodrich AT tyres, at my expense, before taking delivery of my vehicle as I was not impressed with the original General Grabbers fitted to my 4X2, which I traded in after one year.

I listened in to 702 one morning, earlier in the year, to hear of Fortuner 4X2 “rollovers” on gravel roads and thought, what idiots. Clearly these owners had not completed a 4X4 driving course (which I have) and were simply inexperienced and driving at high speed. The next day, a Toyota SA representative appeared on the show and said that the problem was the tyres and that Toyota SA would replace, after wear allowance, the existing tyres. I thought, good move on my part to fit the BF Goodrich tyres in the first place, so I would not experience the same problems.

I have just returned from a trip to our coastal home at Kaysers Beach in the Eastern Cape. The last seven kilometres of the road is a good gravel road. Imagine my surprise on reaching the gravel road and slowing down to 50kph that the car was unstable. I slowed down further and reached a corrugated section (sink plaat) and lost control of the vehicle as the rear slipped sideways towards the gutter. I took my foot off the throttle and came to a complete standstill before engaging high range 4X4. I started off again and was able to increase speed to 40kph and feel in control, as soon as I reached the next section of “sink plaat” the rear slipped to the left again. I was shocked, as I have driven passenger cars at 70kph on this road with no ill effects and here I was driving a 4X4 at half of that speed. I had further “fishtailing” experiences on this section of road and never felt totally at ease behind the wheel, I will not allow my wife to drive this section.

I have spoken with a technician at Safari Centre, Bryanston who confirms that the shock absorbers are the problem and that their dealership has cured this problem, for other owners by fitting EMU replacement parts. You are welcome to call Rodney on 011 4653817. He says the travel length of the standard shock absorbers is inadequate to keep the tyre on the road, in sink plaat conditions. He has offered me the use of their petrol version, test bed Fortuner to experience the difference. The total cost of replacing all four shock absorbers is R8000. I believe that it is incumbent upon Toyota SA to own this problem and do the right thing for all Fortuner owners who bought 4X4 models, to pay for the replacement of all four shock absorbers.

We are in the market to buy a Fortuner, Please correct me if i am wrong - Does the problem only lie with the models before the facelift. Has the suspension been changed on the new models. If i buy a brand new out of the box - will it be fine or does the problem persist. Advice will be apprecited!!

We are in the market to buy a Fortuner, Please correct me if i am wrong - Does the problem only lie with the models before the facelift. Has the suspension been changed on the new models. If i buy a brand new out of the box - will it be fine or does the problem persist. Advice will be apprecited!!

To the best of my knowledge (not owning one but following this closely) the facelift model is not affected, and if you decide to purchase a pre facelift then ensure to upgrade the suspension with OME or similar. There are many very happy owners of pre facelift Fortuners who has gone this route.

Only reports received on issues were pre facelift, with stock suspension.

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